Lisa V.: I Needed an Uncomplicated Friendship

Hellooo to all of you. It is such a busy time of year. I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off! I am sure you are all juggling, too.

So as we settle down and watch this week, I realize why I truly enjoyed this episode as it was one that validates my choice to have been immersed in the crazy world of reality, a documentation of some of the most important and poignant moments of my life. Receiving the star was most definitely one of them. A moment when time stands still and you listen to words of appreciation and support from your loved ones, people that took the time to travel two hours and stand in 115 degree heat was something I didn't take for granted. Their personal journeys that they relayed at dinner made me reflect on why I have stood vociferously in their corner for many years.

I was fortunate enough to have been raised without prejudice of any kind, and I believe my role as a heterosexual woman is an important voice and ally to the gay community.

It really was such an honor to be awarded with the Star on the Walk of Stars. Palm Springs has been so good to me. I have received the Icon award, the key to the city, and the grand marshal of the Christmas parade, and it is mostly due to my indomitable support of the gay community over the years. It is a city where people can safely walk hand in hand, regardless of their sexual preference, and for that, I am thankful. That is a city and a world I would like to live in.

My reticence to have Max's girlfriend come and spend the couple of days with us was one I question: Should I have invited her? The rest of the family were adamant that it was too early. It was a relationship I was most certainly not familiar with and was hardly encouraging as she was thirteen years older than him and worked for me at SUR. I felt her life was in a very different place to his and did not want to encourage that. However, she spent the weekend with us in Palm Springs this weekend and their rocky relationship, one that has been confusing to him and has continued, so time will tell, but it has come to a place where if I want to stay close to my son, I have to accept it.

So back to the matter at hand...

I often find that the way you feel about a friend is largely dependent on how they make you feel. ”

Lisa Vanderpump

This was quite early in the season, and I had barely interacted with any of the women: briefly at the white party, a couple of lunches, that was it. So the decision to invite Lisa Rinna was an obvious one. We had seen each other for lunch, Harry was out of town with the girls, and she was, as always, her supportive, enthusiastic self, and I loved having her by my side. I often find that the way you feel about a friend is largely dependent on how they make you feel. Well Miss Rinna is a wonderfully positive person, and I needed an uncomplicated friendship at a time that was, in all honesty, a little daunting and somewhat overwhelming.

Seeing Yolanda struggle to come to terms with Bella's DUI was understandable. I felt for her as the severity of the situation really outweighs the action. It is a careless action often with dire consequences, and I know that a lesson was well learnt from that experience, but then couple it with the history of losing your father at a tender age has to be even more emotionally challenging. It tugged at my heart strings as she tried to hold it together.

Kim's daughter Brooke getting married was a lovely moment to savor, and I totally understood feelings of pride and joy as she relinquished her daughter to the arms of her chosen man, but luckily for Kim as not so often with others, she adores him.

The importance of that relationship as two families intertwine is paramount. We were so lucky with Jason, and I appreciate that every time we are all together, I gained a son.

Happy to see Eileen integrating into the cast. I have such admiration for the dedication to her work. Fifty pages a day! Can hardly remember my own name some days...

Anyway, this episode has such a feel-good factor, I hope you enjoy it before the fireworks start!
As always, Love, Lisa.